Fishing lure skirts made from silicone are commercially available. Silicone fishing lure skirts with color and glitter additives have been widely accepted, as they appear colorful and work as a fish attractant. They can be molded or calendered into various shapes, normally sheets or tape and slit or dye cut into strands, then banded together to form a silicone fishing lure skirt. They can also be printed to add a fish scale like pattern to give a more life like appearance. Other products such as colored nylon, colored spandex, and coated polyester can be used as a skirt dressing for fishing lures.
The standard silicone fishing lure skirt with the introduction of colorant and glitter presents an acceptable profile as it is trolled or retrieved but the glitter shows minimal flash or reflection due to the fact that it is embodied within the silicone strands. The other products such as colored nylon, colored spandex, coated polyester present good flash and reflectivity, but due to their lack of elasticity and thickness, they collapse, tear apart, and present a poor profile when trolled, retrieved and fished.
Whether a lure is sinking or floating, its purpose is to attract the attention of the fish by simulating the look and movement of their natural prey. The idea is to have the fish react to the lure as if it is food or a threat within its territory. To this end the lure skirt has been developed over the years for a variety of fishing lures. In both fresh-water and salt water applications skirts are used to enhance and exaggerate lure movements. Skirts are also used to camouflage the hook in the lure. It is also believed that colored skirts attract attention or agitate the fish or exaggerate the movement of the lure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,632 discloses the use of metalized plastic sheet film shredded into narrow ribbons having straight or serrated edges. The narrow ribbons are formed into a skirt and adhered to a fishing lure. However, the skirt lacks elasticity and may present a poor profile.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,395 discloses a metalized foil bonded to a silicone elastomer. The metalized foil is formed onto a Mylar carrier and the Mylar is removed when the foil is adhered to the silicone elastomer. However, this skirt may present a poor profile since the Mylar backing is removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,304 discloses a fishing lure skirt comprising a metalized foil bonded to a silicone elastomer. The cross-sectional thickness of the fishing lure skirt is smaller at its distal and steadily increases in size toward its proximal end. However, this skirt may present a poor profile due to the lack of a Mylar layer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,272,787 and 6,544,372 each disclose a fishing lure skirt comprising a silicone rubber substrate and a room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) adhesive ink mixture. The RTV adhesive ink mixtures is used to illustrate fish scales or other patterns and as an adhesive to bond foils onto cured silicone rubber. The metalized foil utilized a Mylar backing that is removed once the foil has bonded to the silicone rubber. However, this skirt may present a poor profile since the Mylar backing is removed.
While each of the foregoing provides a type of lure skirt which functions as an attractant for fish, there is a need for improvement in both flash and maintaining an attractive profile for lure skirts under water.